Challenging Times

My husband and I have been married for over 37 years. That is over half of my own age. There are times that this passage feels like a lifetime and other moments it feels like a short time ago when we got married. Through it all my husband has had my back, leading the support needed to muddle through yet another endeavor.

Through the years

We have been blessed with 4 children, now grown and making their own life stories. The partnership that we have grown together works well. There have been many challenges that we have faced. The early years revolved around new job opportunities, moving to new cities, finding our way.

Of course, having 4 children was another adventurous path that we navigated together. Complications always presented themselves at times that may not have been ideal. We weathered the storms together and were made better for it.

Having a life partner that steps in at times of adversity is probably the most reassuring feeling in the world. I have personally had some medical challenges, 2 cesarean births, 2 total knee replacements, learned life with hearing aids, and being diagnosed with MMD (myopic macular degeneration), just to name a few.

He got sick

My husband, either is a very lucky guy or just has a strong healthy constitution and has not really been laid up for any major illness. There was the occasional cold, flu or the dreaded Covid that took him out for a brief time. Nothing that really took him out of the day-to-day line up.

That is until this past month. The long story short is he was struck with an unreasonable illness: an intense gallbladder attack.

The incident started in the early hours of a Monday morning and by the evening of the same day he was being admitted and scheduled for gallbladder removal the following morning. He was down for the count.

Feeling single

As I navigated my way home that evening, it was dark. I typically do not drive at night; myopic macular degeneration has taken that away from me.

I did manage this drive solely on the fact that there was NO ONE on the road at 1:30 in the morning, thank goodness. The roadside lights illuminated my way and I made it home safe and sound.

The next day

As the next day dawned, thoughts began swirling in my mind, the way they do. The unknown factors of my husband's recovery was a worry for me.

Being the one in charge of this situation while he was recovering began to weigh heavy on my mind. Juggling the “what-ifs” as to our future potentials or my ability to navigate through this crisis.

Myopic macular degeneration will never go away, never get better, and will always bring challenges to my day-to-day life. I am fortunate to be at a standstill in my MMD journey, holding steady for over a year. In the meantime, I need to think ahead as to how I will live my life in the future.